A ferry runs from Suriname to Guyana once a day at 8:00 a.m. or rather, it departs as soon as it’s full. If you miss it, you’re out of luck and have to wait until the next day. We arranged to leave at 4:00 a.m. As I mentally prepared myself for an early departure without […]
Suriname – Guyana, June 2026 Read More »
Fungu Island “Above the white city, I see golden moonlight, I hear the whisper of pearly waves. Crimson corals bloom; the pearly surf lies still. The city of happiness — a dream I’ve long held dear. Paramaribo, Paramaribo, Paramaribo — city of the morning dawn. I know your golden beach still awaits me, as do the white
Paramaribo, Suriname, June 2026 Read More »
French Guiana – Suriname We stayed in Paramaribo for the night and set off the next morning to spend two days deep within the Central Reserve on Fungo Island in the jungle. We were told to leave most of our belongings in storage at the hotel and to pack only the essentials for one night
Fungu Island, Suriname, June 2026 Read More »
Devil’s Island, French Guiana For that morning, we had a scheduled tour of the Kourou space center from which France and other European nations launch their satellites into orbit. We had submitted our application forms in advance; everyone in the group had passed the security check and received confirmations that the visit was approved. We
French Guiana – Suriname, June 2026 Read More »
Brazil to French Guiana The entire following day was devoted to a trip to Devil’s Island, home to a notorious maximum-security prison. The prison was built in 1852. France used it to exile to distant Guiana primarily political prisoners. Inmates included conspirators against Napoleon, the famous Alfred Dreyfus who was falsely accused of spying for
Devil’s Island, French Guiana, June 2026 Read More »
Macapa, Brazil It was going to be a long day, and we were told we would be leaving at 6:30 a.m. I don’t set an alarm; I usually wake up by six anyway. I went to sleep late and woke up with a start, as if jolted. The room was dark because of the heavily
Brazil to French Guiana, June 2026 Read More »
“I’ve never sailed the Amazon, I’ve never reached Brazil; But the Don and Magdalena, they can go there when they will!” Rudyard Kipling Actually, I already was in Brazil in 2008, though in a different part of the country – the south. Now it was time for northern Brazil. The flight from Colorado involved a
Macapa, Brazil, June 2026 Read More »
Having lost 12 hours and a substantial amount of money when I had to buy a new ticket from Istanbul to Addis Ababa, I nevertheless made it from Bulgaria to Togo. It was entirely my fault that I missed the bus and subsequently the flight. Despite the nerve-racking experience and 2 sleepless nights, I arrived
Lome, Togo, January 2026 Read More »
I’m usually lucky, even in the most seemingly impossible and hopeless situations. I’m not bragging—one can’t brag about luck, health, or money—I’m simply stating the fact. However, I can’t figure out what to think about how I got from Bulgaria to Togo. Was it a warning not to push my luck? Here is what happened.
Bulgaria – Istanbul – Addis Ababa – Lome, Togo, Jan 2026 Read More »
The New Year dinner was at the Back to the USSR restaurant. When we came in, the tables were laden with entree dishes – pancakes with red caviar, cold meat cuts, fresh salads, stewed vegetables, and a lot more, every was looked and tasted delicious. The drinks were champagne, Moldavian wine and cognacs. Besides ours,
31 Dec 2025 – 1 Jan 2026, Transnistria Read More »
